Chloë Stevens Sevigny (/ˈsɛvəni/;[3] born November 18, 1974) is an
American actress and model. In 1994, she attracted the attention of
novelist Jay McInerney, who wrote a seven-page article about her for
The New Yorker, in which he called the then 19-year-old Sevigny the
"coolest girl in the world".[4] This came only two years after Sevigny
had made a debut in the official video for Sonic Youth's song "Sugar
Kane".
Sevigny made her motion picture debut with a lead role in the
controversial film Kids (1995), written by her then-boyfriend Harmony
Korine and received an
Independent Spirit Award nomination for her
performance. A long line of roles in generally well-received and often
experimental films throughout the decade established Sevigny as a
mainstay in the independent film community.[5] In 1999, Sevigny gained
recognition outside of the independent film world for her role as Lana
Tisdel in the fact-based drama Boys Don't Cry, earning her Academy
Award and
Golden GlobeGolden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actress. Other
roles that followed included in
American PsychoAmerican Psycho (2000), Party Monster
(2003) and
DogvilleDogville (2003). Her role in the film The Brown Bunny
(2003) caused significant controversy because of a scene in which she
performs unsimulated fellatio. Her films since then have included
Melinda and MelindaMelinda and Melinda (2004),
ManderlayManderlay (2005) and
ZodiacZodiac (2007), the
latter of which marked Sevigny's transition into a more big budget
studio picture.
From 2006 to 2011, Sevigny played the polygamist
Nicolette Grant in
the
HBOHBO television series Big Love, for which she won a Golden Globe
for Best Supporting Actress in 2010. She then appeared in several
television projects, including lead roles in Hit & Miss (2012) and
American Horror Story: Hotel (2015–2016), and recurring roles on
American Horror Story: Asylum (2012–2013), Portlandia (2013) and
Bloodline (2015–2017). She made her directorial debut with the short
film Kitty, which closed the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.[6]

Early life[edit]
Sevigny was born Chloe Stevens Sevigny in Springfield,
Massachusetts,[1][7][8] the second child of Janine (née Malinowski)
and H. David Sevigny (1940–1996).[9] She has one older brother,
Paul.[10] According to Sevigny, she added the diaeresis to her first
name later in life, and it was not on her birth certificate.[1] Her
mother is Polish-American, and her father was of French-Canadian
heritage.[11] Sevigny was raised in Darien, Connecticut,[12] where her
father worked as an accountant turned local art teacher.[13] Sevigny's
father died of cancer in 1996.[11] Despite Darien's affluence,
Sevigny's parents had a "frugal" household, and were considered "the
poor bohemians in [an] extremely prosperous neighborhood."[13] Sevigny
expressed interest in acting as a child, and spent summers attending
theatre camp, with leading roles in plays run by the YMCA.[14][15] She
was raised Roman Catholic,[15][16][17][18] and attended Darien High
School, where she was a member of the Alternative Learning Program.
While in high school, she often babysat actor
Topher GraceTopher Grace and his
younger sister.[19] As a teenager, she worked sweeping the tennis
courts of a country club her family could not afford to join.[20]
During her teenage years, Sevigny became rebellious: "I was very
well-mannered, and my mother was very strict. But I did hang out at
the
MobilMobil station and smoke cigarettes."[21][22] Between her junior
and senior year of high school, she shaved her head and sold her hair
to a Broadway wigmaker.[15] She openly admitted to using drugs as a
teenager, especially hallucinogens. She has commented that her father
was aware of her experimentation with hallucinogens and marijuana, and
even told her that it was okay, but that she had "to stop if she had
bad trips".[23] Despite her father's leniency, her mother later chose
to send her to
Alcoholics AnonymousAlcoholics Anonymous meetings. In 2007, she told The
Times that "I had a great family life – I would never want it to
look as if it reflected on them. I think I was very bored, and I did
just love taking hallucinogens ... but I often feel it's because
I experimented when I was younger that I have no interest as an adult.
I know a lot of adults who didn't, and it's much more dangerous when
you start experimenting with drugs as an adult." She often described
herself as a "loner" and a "depressed teenager". Her only
extracurricular activity was occasionally skateboarding with her older
brother, and she spent most of her free time in her bedroom: "Mostly I
sewed. I had nothing better to do, so I made my own clothes."[22]
Career[edit]
1992–1994: Beginnings[edit]
As a teenager, Sevigny would occasionally ditch school in Darien and
catch the train into Manhattan.[24] In 1992, at age 17, she was
spotted on an East Village street by Andrea Linett, a fashion editor
of Sassy magazine, who was so impressed by her style that she asked
her to model for the magazine; she was later made an intern.[11] When
recounting the event, Sevigny was ambivalent about it, stating that
"the woman at Sassy just liked the hat I was wearing".[25] She later
modeled in the magazine as well as for X-girl, the subsidiary fashion
label of the Beastie Boys' "X-Large", designed by
Kim GordonKim Gordon of Sonic
Youth, which then led to an appearance in the music video for Sonic
Youth's "Sugar Kane".
In 1993, at age 19, Sevigny relocated from her Connecticut hometown to
an apartment in Brooklyn, and worked as a seamstress.[3] During that
time, author
Jay McInerneyJay McInerney spotted her around New York City and wrote
a seven-page article about her for
The New YorkerThe New Yorker in which he dubbed
her the new "it girl" and referred to her as one of the "coolest girls
in the world".[4] She subsequently appeared on the album cover of
Gigolo Aunts' 1994 recording Flippin' Out and the EP Full-On
Bloom,[26] as well as a Lemonheads music video which further increased
her reputation in New York's early 1990s underground scene.
1995–1998: Early work[edit]
Sevigny encountered young screenwriter and aspiring director Harmony
Korine in
Washington Square ParkWashington Square Park in New York City during her senior
year of high school in 1993.[25][27] The two became close friends,
which resulted in her being cast in the low-budget independent film
Kids (1995).[11][28] Directed by
Larry ClarkLarry Clark and written by Korine,
Sevigny plays a New York teenager who discovers she is HIV positive.
According to Sevigny, she was originally cast in a much smaller role
in the film, but ended up replacing Canadian actress Mia Kirshner.
Just two days before production began, the leading role went to the
then 19-year-old Sevigny, who had no professional acting
experience;[14][29] she said of her casting in the role, "Harmony
[Korine] just thought I was this sweet, cute girl and he liked my
blonde hair."[25] Nonetheless, Kids was highly controversial; the film
was given an
NC-17NC-17 rating by the Motion Picture Association of America
for its graphic depiction of sexuality and recreational substance and
drug use involving teenagers.[30] Despite its controversy, Kids was
taken note of critically and commercially: respected film critic Janet
Maslin considered the film a "wake-up call to the modern world" about
the nature of the American youth in contemporary urban settings.[31]
Sevigny's performance was praised, with critics noting that she
brought a tenderness to the chaotic, immoral nature of the film:
"Sevigny provided the warm, reflective center in this feral film".[32]
She ended up receiving an
Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best
Supporting Female.
Sevigny followed Kids with actor/director Steve Buscemi's independent
film
Trees LoungeTrees Lounge (1996), starring in a relatively small role as
Buscemi's object of affection. During this time, director Mary Harron
(after having seen Kids) offered Sevigny a minor part in her film, I
Shot
Andy WarholAndy Warhol (1996). Harron tracked Sevigny down to the SoHo
clothing store Liquid Sky, where she was working at the time. Sevigny
then gave her first audition ever, but ultimately decided to turn down
the part;[25] she would later work with Harron on American Psycho
(2000). Instead of taking the part in I Shot Andy Warhol, Sevigny
starred in and worked as a fashion designer on
Gummo (1997),[33]
directed and written by Harmony Korine, who was romantically involved
with Sevigny during filming.[33][34]
Gummo was as controversial as
Sevigny's debut; set in Xenia, Ohio, the film depicts an array of
nihilistic characters in a poverty-stricken small-town America, and
presents issues such as drug and sexual abuse as well as anti-social
alienated youth in Midwestern America.[35] In retrospection to the
confronting nature of the film, Sevigny cited it as one of her
favorite projects: "Young people love that movie. It's been stolen
from every Blockbuster in America. It's become a cult film".[25] The
film was dedicated to Sevigny's father, who died prior to the film's
release.[36]
After Gummo, Sevigny starred in the neo-noir thriller Palmetto (1998),
playing a young Florida kidnapee alongside Woody Harrelson. She then
had a leading role as a Hampshire College graduate in the sardonic
period piece
The Last Days of DiscoThe Last Days of Disco (1998), alongside Kate Beckinsale.
The film was written and directed by cult director
Whit StillmanWhit Stillman and
details the rise and fall of the
ManhattanManhattan club scene in the "very
early 1980s".[37] Stillman said of Sevigny: "Chloë is a natural
phenomenon. You're not directing, she's not performing—it's just
real."[33]
Janet Maslin of
The New York TimesThe New York Times wrote that Sevigny "is
seductively demure" in her performance as Alice.[38] The film was
generally well received, but was not a box-office success in the
United States, only grossing $3 million[39]—it has since become
somewhat of a success as a cult film.[40]
Aside from film work, Sevigny starred in a 1998 Off-Broadway
production of Hazelwood Jr. High, which tells the true story of the
1992 murder of Shanda Sharer; Sevigny played 17-year-old Laurie
Tackett, one of four girls responsible for torturing and murdering
12-year-old Sharer.[41] Sevigny was reportedly so emotionally
disturbed after playing the role that she began attending Catholic
Mass again.[15][18]
1999–2003: Boys Don't Cry, breakthrough[edit]
Sevigny was cast in the independent drama Boys Don't Cry (1999) after
director
Kimberly Peirce saw her performance in The Last Days of
Disco.[33][42] Sevigny's role in Boys Don't Cry—a biographical film
of trans man Brandon Teena,[43] who was raped and murdered in
Humboldt, NebraskaHumboldt, Nebraska in 1993—was responsible for her rise to
prominence and her mainstream success.[44][45] Sevigny played Lana
Tisdel, a young woman who fell in love with Teena, initially unaware
of the fact that he was biologically female and continued the
relationship despite learning about his birth gender. Boys Don't Cry
received high praise from critics, and was a moderate box-office
success.[46] Sevigny's performance was singled out as one of the
film's strong points and was widely embraced as one of the best acted
films of that year: The
Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles Times stated that Sevigny "plays
the role with haunting immediacy",[47]
Roger EbertRoger Ebert of The Chicago Sun
Times stated that "it is Sevigny who provides our entrance into the
story"[48] and Rolling Stone wrote that Sevigny gives a "performance
that burns into the memory".[49] Director
Kimberly Peirce echoed the
same feelings of the critics: "Chloë just surrendered to the part.
She watched videos of Lana. She just became her very naturally. She's
not one of those Hollywood actresses who diets and gets plastic
surgery. You never catch her acting."[25] The role earned Sevigny Best
Supporting Actress nominations for both an
Academy AwardAcademy Award and a Golden
Globe Award.[50] Sevigny won an Independent Spirit Award, a Satellite
Award, and a Sierra Award for her performance.[51]
Following Boys Don't Cry, Sevigny had a supporting role in American
Psycho, based on the controversial 1991 novel by Bret Easton Ellis.
Sevigny plays the office assistant of Patrick Bateman, played by
Christian Bale, a 1980s
ManhattanManhattan yuppie-turned-serial killer. The
film, as was its source novel, was controversial because of its
depiction of graphic violence and sexuality in an upper-class
ManhattanManhattan society.[52] In addition, she reunited with Kids writer and
Gummo director
Harmony KorineHarmony Korine for the experimental Julien Donkey-Boy
(1999), playing the pregnant sister of a schizophrenic man. Though it
never saw a major theatrical release, it garnered some critical
praise;
Roger EbertRoger Ebert gave the film his signature thumbs up, referring
to it as "
FreaksFreaks shot by the Blair Witch crew", and continuing to say,
"The odds are good that most people will dislike this film and be
offended by it. For others, it will provoke sympathy rather than
scorn".[53] Sevigny followed Julien with a small part in the drama
film
A Map of the World (1999), opposite Sigourney Weaver.
Between 1998 and 2000, Sevigny moved back to Connecticut to live with
her mother,[54] and appeared as a lesbian in the Emmy Award-winning
television movie
If These Walls Could Talk 2If These Walls Could Talk 2 (2000), the sequel to the
HBOHBO television drama-film
If These Walls Could TalkIf These Walls Could Talk (1996).[33]
Sevigny reportedly took the role in the film in order to help pay her
mother's mortgage payment, and has credited it as the only film she
ever made for financial benefit.[33] Following this appearance,
Sevigny was approached for a supporting role in the 2001 comedy
Legally Blonde alongside
Reese WitherspoonReese Witherspoon and offered $500,000; she
declined and the role was given to Selma Blair.[33] Instead, she
starred in Olivier Assayas' French techno thriller
DemonloverDemonlover (2002)
alongside Connie Nielsen, for which she was required to learn her
lines in French.[28] Sevigny described shooting the film as "strange",
in the sense that director Assayas hardly spoke to her during the
filming, which she said was difficult because of the lack of
"input".[55] After spending nearly three months in France to complete
Demonlover, Sevigny returned to New York to film the
Club Kids biopic,
Party Monster (2003); coincidentally, Sevigny in fact knew several of
the people depicted in the film (
Michael AligMichael Alig and James St. James
included), whom she had met during her frequent trips to New York
City's club scene as a teenager.[15]
Sevigny then obtained a role in Lars von Trier's parable film Dogville
(2003), playing one of the various residents of a small mountain town,
alongside Nicole Kidman, Lauren Bacall, and Paul Bettany; the film
received mixed reactions, and was criticized by critics Roger Ebert
and
Richard RoeperRichard Roeper as being "anti-American".[56] Sevigny re-united
with former Boys Don't Cry star
Peter SarsgaardPeter Sarsgaard for the biographical
film Shattered Glass (2003), also alongside Hayden Christensen, about
the career of Stephen Glass, a journalist whose reputation is
destroyed when his widespread journalistic fraud is exposed. Sevigny
played Caitlin Avey, one of Glass' co-editors.
2004–2006:
The Brown BunnyThe Brown Bunny controversy[edit]

Sevigny at a press conference for Melinda and Melinda

In 2003, Sevigny took on the lead female role in the art house film
The Brown BunnyThe Brown Bunny (2003), which details a lonely traveling motorcycle
racer reminiscing about his former lover. The film achieved notoriety
for its final scene, which involves Sevigny performing unsimulated
fellatio on star and director Vincent Gallo.[33][57] The film
premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, and opened to significant
controversy and criticism from audiences and critics.[58] She went on
to defend the movie, "It's a shame people write so many things when
they haven't seen it. When you see the film, it makes more sense. It's
an art film. It should be playing in museums. It's like an Andy Warhol
movie."[59] After the film's release at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival,
the
William Morris AgencyWilliam Morris Agency terminated Sevigny as a client.[60] The
agency believed the scene was "one step above pornography", and
claimed that Sevigny's career "may never recover".[61] In an interview
with The Telegraph in 2003, when asked if she regretted the film, she
responded: "No, I was always committed to the project on the strength
of Vincent alone. I have faith in his aesthetic ... I try to
forgive and forget, otherwise I'd just become a bitter old lady."[62]
Despite the backlash toward the film, some critics praised Sevigny's
performance;
Manohla Dargis of
The New York TimesThe New York Times said, "Actresses
have been asked and even bullied into performing similar acts for
filmmakers since the movies began, usually behind closed doors. Ms.
Sevigny isn't hiding behind anyone's desk. She says her lines with
feeling and puts her iconoclasm right out there where everyone can see
it; she may be nuts, but she's also unforgettable."[63] Roger Ebert,
although critical of The Brown Bunny, nevertheless said that Sevigny
brought "a truth and vulnerability" to the film.[64]

I've done it in everyday life. Everybody's done it, or had it done to
them. It was tough, the toughest thing I've ever done, but Vincent was
very sensitized to my needs, very gentle. It was one take. It was
funny and awkward—we both laughed quite a bit. And we'd been
intimate in the past, so it wasn't so weird. If you're not challenging
yourself and taking risks, then what's the point of being an artist?

– Sevigny discusses the sex scene in The Brown Bunny[65]

Despite her agency's disapproval of the film (and fear that the
actress might have forever tarnished her career), she continued on
with various projects.[66] Sevigny had a major supporting role as a
Manhattanite in Woody Allen's two-sided tragicomedy, Melinda and
Melinda (2004), which Sevigny referred to as being a "pleasing"
experience.[19] She subsequently guest-starred on the popular
television show Will & Grace, and a string of film roles followed,
including a small role in Lars von Trier's sequel to Dogville, titled
ManderlayManderlay (2005), as well as a bit part alongside
Bill MurrayBill Murray in
Broken FlowersBroken Flowers (2005). Sevigny also played one of several lovers of
New York doctor
Herman TarnowerHerman Tarnower in the
HBOHBO television film Mrs. Harris
(2005) alongside
Annette BeningAnnette Bening and Ben Kingsley. Sevigny then had a
major role as a Catholic nun visiting Africa in one of three stories
in
3 Needles3 Needles (2005), an anthology dealing with the prevalence of AIDS
in various parts of the world. Sevigny's performance in the film was
praised; Dennis Harvey of Variety called her performance in the film
"convincing",[67] while Kevin Thomas of the
Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles Times also
referred to Sevigny as "ever-daring and shrewd".[68] Shortly after 3
Needles, Sevigny played the lead character in the experimental
indie-film Lying (2006) with
Jena MaloneJena Malone and Leelee Sobieski, playing
a pathological liar who gathers three female acquaintances for a
weekend at her upstate New York country house; the film premiered at
the
Cannes Film FestivalCannes Film Festival in 2006. She also had a leading part in
Douglas Buck's 2006 remake of the
Brian De PalmaBrian De Palma horror film Sisters
(1973).
2007–2011: Big Love[edit]

In 2006, Sevigny began her five-season run in the
HBOHBO television
series Big Love, about a family of fundamentalist Mormon polygamists.
She played Nicolette Grant, the conniving, shopaholic daughter of a
cult leader and second wife to a polygamist husband, played by Bill
Paxton. Sevigny found even more mainstream success with a role in her
first big-budget production[69] as Robert Graysmith's wife Melanie in
David Fincher's
ZodiacZodiac (2007), telling the true story of San
Francisco's infamous
ZodiacZodiac Killer. In 2009, Sevigny starred in the
independent psychological thriller film The Killing Room, and Werner
Herzog's My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done, a crime horror film based
on murderer Mark Yavorsky, produced by David Lynch. Sevigny also had a
voice part in the independent documentary film, Beautiful Darling
(2010), narrating the life of trans woman
Warhol superstarWarhol superstar Candy
Darling through Darling's diaries and personal letters.[70] Throughout
2009, Sevigny continued working on Big Love's fourth season; when
filming the series, she spent six months of the year living outside of
Los AngelesLos Angeles near Santa Clarita, away from her home in New York
City.[71]
In January 2010, Sevigny won a
Golden GlobeGolden Globe award for Best Supporting
Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film for her
performance in the third season of Big Love. The series itself also
received nominations in two other categories.[72] During a press
conference following the award win, Sevigny addressed the repressed
women living in the fundamentalist Mormon compounds: "These women are
kept extremely repressed. They should be helped. They don't even know
who the president of the United States is."[73] In addition, she had
various screening credits that year: Sevigny landed major roles in two
independent comedy films:
Barry MundayBarry Munday and Mr. Nice[74] in Munday,
Sevigny plays the sister of a homely woman who is expecting a child by
a recently castrated womanizer (opposite Patrick Wilson and Judy
Greer); in Mr. Nice, she had a leading role as British
marijuana-trafficker Howard Marks' wife, alongside Rhys Ifans; the
film was based on Marks' autobiography of the same name. In a later
interview with The A.V. Club, Sevigny was asked if she felt that the
show's message was that polygamy was "wrong". In response, Sevigny
stated: "No, absolutely not. I think there are more parallels to gay
rights and alternative lifestyles within Big Love—more so than
'Polygamy is wrong'. I think they actually condone people who decide
to live this lifestyle outside of fundamentalist sects."[75] During
the same interview, Sevigny stated her disappointment with the series'
fourth season, calling it "awful" and "very telenovela"—though she
stated that she loves her character and the writing, she felt the show
"got away from itself".[75][76] Sevigny later regretted making the
statements,[77] saying she was very "exhausted" and "wasn't thinking
about what [she] was saying"; she also apologized to the show's
producers. "[I didn't want them to think] that I was biting the hand
that feeds me, because I obviously love the show and have always been
nothing but positive about it. And I didn't want anybody to
misunderstand me or think that I wasn't, you know, appreciative."[77]
In March 2010, Sevigny attended the South by Southwest Film Festival
in Austin for the premiere of both
Barry MundayBarry Munday and Mr. Nice;[78]
Barry MundayBarry Munday was picked up for distribution by Magnolia Pictures
several months later. In June 2010, it was announced that Sevigny
would be starring in a leading role in M. Blash's second film The
Wait, alongside
Jena MaloneJena Malone and Luke Grimes; it is a psychological
thriller about two sisters who decide to keep their recently deceased
mother in their house after receiving a phone call that she will be
resurrected. The film marks Sevigny's second time working with both
Blash and Malone, following 2006's Lying. Filming began on June 20,
2010, in Sisters, Oregon.[79]
2012–present: Television roles, directing[edit]
In 2011, Sevigny traveled to Manchester, England, to film the British
six-part drama Hit & Miss where she starred as Mia, a transsexual
contract killer.[80] Upon returning to the United States, she
guest-starred on Law & Order:
SpecialSpecial Victims Unit on April 18,
2012, and also landed a guest starring role in the second season of
American Horror Story, which premiered in October 2012.[81] Sevigny
also starred as a journalist in Lovelace, a biopic about pornographic
film actress Linda Lovelace.[82] In 2011, it was reported that Sevigny
expressed interest in developing and starring in a mini-series about
the infamous accused axe-murderer Lizzie Borden.[83] With Tom Hanks
reportedly backing the production of the series, it was reportedly due
to begin filming in late 2012.[84] In 2013, Chloe Sevigny was featured
as a satellite character, Alexandra, in the TV show Portlandia during
its third season on IFC.[85] Also in 2013, Sevigny had a 5-episode
guest role on The Mindy Project.[86] In 2014, She starred as Catherine
Jensen in the crime drama Those Who Kill, which aired on the A&E
Network.[87] It was then re-launched on A&E's sister network,
Lifetime Movie Network, on March 30, 2014, after being pulled from
A&E after two episodes due to low ratings.[88] The series was
subsequently cancelled by the network after its 10 episode first
season run.[89]
In March 2015, it was announced Sevigny would be returning to American
Horror Story, for its fifth season Hotel, as a main cast member.[90]
Sevigny portrayed the role of Alex Lowe, a doctor.[91] That same year,
she also starred in the Netflix original series Bloodline.[92] Sevigny
also appeared in Tara Subkoff's directorial debut #Horror.[93] In
2016, Sevigny appeared in the Canadian horror film
AntibirthAntibirth opposite
Natasha Lyonne.[94] Sevigny reunited with The Last Days of Disco
director
Whit StillmanWhit Stillman on Love & Friendship, an adaptation of the
Jane AustenJane Austen novel Lady Susan.[95] Both films premiered at the Sundance
Film Festival In January 2016.[96] She also has a supporting role in
The Snowman (2017), a crime thriller starring Michael Fassbender,
which she filmed in Norway in the winter 2016. Sevigny will also make
her directorial debut on the short film Kitty which she adapted from
Paul Bowle's 1980 short story.[97]
On July 19, 2016, it was announced that Sevigny had joined the cast of
Lean on Pete, based on the novel by Willy Vlautin.[98] The film is set
to shoot in Portland, Oregon, and the eastern Oregon region.[99] In
January 2018, Lizzie premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. The film
stars Sevigny as Lizzie Borden, and features Kristen Stewart.[100]
Fashion career[edit]

Sevigny has long been considered a fashion icon and regularly appears
on best dressed lists.[101] Throughout her career, she has modelled
for several high-profile designers, including Miu Miu, Louis Vuitton,
Chloé, H&M, Proenza Schouler, Kenzo and Vivienne
Westwood.[102][103][104][105] Prior to her career as an actress, she
had achieved fame for her unique style. While her sense of style in
the early 1990s only reflected small downtown scenes and trends, it
still made a significant impression on high class fashion chains which
began to emulate Sevigny's look. Her interest in fashion and clothing,
as well as her career as a fashion model in her late teenage years and
early twenties, have led to a career as a prominent and well-respected
fashion designer. She has expressed interest in fashion design
throughout the entirety of her career, even dating back to her
childhood: "Little House on the Prairie was my favorite show. I would
only wear calico print dresses, and I actually slept in one of those
little nightcaps!", she told People in 2007.[106] Her unorthodox style
(which garnered her initial notoriety in the early '90s) has often
been referred to as very eclectic.[107] Sevigny has since released
several clothing lines designed by herself, both solo and in
collaboration, and has earned a title as a modern fashion icon.[74]
In 2002, she collaborated with
Tara SubkoffTara Subkoff for the 2003 Imitation of
Christ collection in New York City, serving as creative director for
the series, which was referred to as being "more about performance art
and cultural theory than clothes".[108] Actress Scarlett Johansson
also collaborated for the collection.[109] In November 2003, during
the time of the event's release, Sevigny lost four of her teeth after
tripping and falling in a pair of high-heeled boots; she was said to
have been "play wrestling" with co-collaborator Matt Damhave.[110]
Sevigny has also done various modeling jobs and magazine spreads; in
October 2007, the French fashion house
ChloéChloé announced that she would
be one of the spokesmodels for their new fragrance. In addition, she
appeared in the January 2007 issue of House and Garden titled
"Subversive Spirit", which featured a spread on Sevigny's Manhattan
apartment. Sevigny's most recent collection was released in fall 2009
for the
ManhattanManhattan boutique, Opening Ceremony;[111] the collection
included both men's, women's, and unisex pieces.[112] The pieces were
sold exclusively at Opening Ceremony boutiques (
ManhattanManhattan and Los
Angeles),
BarneysBarneys (United States), Colette (Paris), and London's Dover
Street Market.[113] The series received decidedly mixed
reactions.[114] Sevigny's designs for the collection have been seen on
RihannaRihanna and Victoria Beckham.[115]

Chloë's not afraid to look different and in looking different, she
looks very charismatic. No one in LA gets it. Her attitude is foreign
to this city. She is so not Fred Segal.

Critical reception of her fashion and style has been extensively
written about by both designers and fashion stylists and has generally
proved favorable. American designer
Marc JacobsMarc Jacobs wrote of Sevigny in
2001: "The fashion world is fascinated by her. Because not only is she
talented, young and attractive, she stands out in a sea of often
clichéd looking actresses."[116] In terms of her own personal style,
Sevigny cited the Australian film Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975), which
features schoolgirls dressed in elaborate Victorian clothing, as a
major inspiration; she has also cited it as one of her favorite
films.[117] She has also been outspoken in her favoritism of vintage
clothing over designer pieces: "I still prefer to buy vintage over
spending it all on one designer", she told The Times.[118] "I'll go to
Resurrection or Decades and be like, 'Oh, I'm going to buy
everything,' but a lot of it is extremely expensive, so I'll go to
Wasteland and satisfy that urge and it's not too hard on the
pocketbook. Then there's this place called Studio Wardrobe Department
where everything is like three dollars".
During the 29th International Festival of Fashion and Photography,
which ran from April 25 to 28, 2014, Sevigny was a judge of the
fashion jury, along with Humberto Leon and Carol Lim.[119] In April
2015, Rizzoli released a picture book celebrating the actress's style
legacy, featuring photos of Sevigny through the years, with shots of
her as a high school student, on-set photos, scripts and other
personal ephemera.[119][120]
Personal life[edit]
Sevigny owned an apartment in Manhattan's East Village, which she
purchased for $1.2 million in 2006 and sold in March 2013 for $1.85
million.[121] In October 2013, after selling her East Village
apartment, she purchased a "classic six" apartment residence,
overlooking Prospect Park in Park Slope, Brooklyn, for $2
million.[122]
Sevigny's father died when she was in her early 20s, and she stated in
a 2006 interview that she came from a "close-knit" family, that she
speaks to her mother every day, and that her brother lives three
blocks away from her apartment.[123] She suffers from scoliosis,
diagnosed when she was a child, though she never received any surgical
treatment. She has stated that she practices yoga for relief from the
pain caused by the spinal deformity.[15] She is a practicing Roman
Catholic, although she admits that she rebelled against religion as a
teenager. She said she began attending church services again after
playing a Satan-worshipping teenage murderer in a 1998 Off-Broadway
production of Hazelwood Junior High, claiming that she became "really
disturbed" and "started having nightmares and thinking horrible
things."[15][18]
Sevigny has only had long-term relationships with men, though in 2006
she stated to the
New York PostNew York Post Gossip column: "I've questioned issues
of gender and sexuality since I was a teenager, and I did some
experimenting."[25] In a later interview, she stated that she
"wouldn't call herself bisexual," and that she could never see herself
in a relationship with a woman.[124] Nonetheless, she has been popular
with the gay community throughout her career.[124] Following her on
and off relationship with Harmony Korine, which ended in the late
1990s, Sevigny dated British musician Jarvis Cocker, and later Matt
McAuley, a member of the noise-rock band A.R.E. Weapons.[125] Sevigny
and McAuley ended their eight-year relationship in early 2008.[125]
In a 2009 interview, Sevigny reflected on her career, and said she was
content with the level of stardom she had maintained: "When I was in
my early 20s, I went out with a British pop star, Jarvis Cocker; of
course, pop stars have much more celebrity, I think, than actors even.
They're really hunted by their fans much more. I remember driving
around these remote towns in
WalesWales and kids running after us in the
street. I was like, 'This is horrible!' And I saw the effect it had on
him, and that's when I decided I never wanted to be a celebrity at
that level, and I think that's why I've chosen to do the work that I
do and just kind of work with directors that I love and try and do
work that means something to me."[71]
Actor
Drew Droege has a web series titled Chloë, which features him
in drag, doing impersonations of Sevigny.[126]
Filmography[edit]
Film[edit]

^ Note: "This film is dedicated to David Sevigny, a beautiful sailor";
seen in the end credits of Gummo.
^ Note: It is stated clearly at the beginning of The Last Days of
Disco that the film is set in the "very early '80s".
^ Maslin, Janet (May 28, 1998). "Film Review: Last Days of Disco,
Night Life of the the Young, Urban and Genteel". The New York Times.
Retrieved January 1, 2010.
^ "The Last Days of Disco". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 14,
2009.
^

Lanthier, Joseph (August 25, 2009). "The Last Days of Disco: The
Criterion Collection". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on
June 6, 2011. Retrieved January 8, 2010.
"MoMA PopRally – The Last Days of Disco". The Museum of Modern
Art.

^ Brantley, Ben (March 6, 1998). "Theater Review – Indiana School
Days: Reading, Writing and Murder". New York Times. Retrieved June 17,
2010.
^ Sevigny, Chloë (2009).
The Last Days of DiscoThe Last Days of Disco (DVD). The Criterion
Collection.
^ Note: – as
Brandon Teena was never his legal name, it is
uncertain the extent to which this name was used prior to his death.
It is the name most commonly used by the press and other media. Other
names may include his legal name, as well as "Billy Brenson" and
"Teena Ray"
^ "U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals: JoAnn Brandon v Charles B.
Laux". FindLaw. Retrieved December 7, 2006.
^ Howey, Noelle (March 22, 2000). "Boys Do Cry". Mother Jones. San
Francisco, California: Foundation for National Progress. Retrieved
December 7, 2006.
^ "Boys Don't Cry (1999)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved May 25,
2006.
^ Turan, Kenneth (October 22, 1999). "'Boys Don't Cry': Devastating
Price of Daring to Be Different". The
Los AngelesLos Angeles Times. Los Angeles,
California: Tronc. Archived from the original on August 27, 2009.
Retrieved January 7, 2010.
^ Ebert, Roger (October 22, 1999). "Boys Don't Cry". The Chicago Sun
Times. Retrieved January 7, 2010.
^ Boys Don't Cry at Rotten Tomatoes; Retrieved November 11, 2009.
^ "
Academy AwardAcademy Award Database: Chloe Sevigny". Academy of Motion Picture
Arts and Sciences. Retrieved January 9, 2008. [permanent dead
link]
^

"Sevigny in BLK DNM". Harpers Bazaar. April 13, 2012. Archived from
the original on June 26, 2012. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
"The Best Dressed: Chloe Sevigny's Chinoiserie Rodarte". Harpers
Bazaar. January 14, 2011. Archived from the original on January 26,
2012. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
"Top 10 Most Popular". Style.com. July 22, 2012. Retrieved July 22,
2012.

Bryan, Meredith (August 8, 2008). "The Fashion Industry Wants a Piece
of Olympics Pie". The New York Observer. Archived from the original on
January 1, 2009.
"Chloe Sevigny for Opening Ceremony Fall '09 Collection". Celebrity
Clothing Line.Com. February 24, 2009.

"Chloe Sevigny for Opening Ceremony". EmmaGem.com. December 15, 2009.
Archived from the original on December 8, 2009. Retrieved March 2,
2010.
"
Chloë SevignyChloë Sevigny for Opening Ceremony: The Unfortunate Reactions, by
The Cut". NY Mag. March 4, 2008. Retrieved February 28, 2010.

Neuman, William (April 17, 2005). "In an East Village Co-op, The
Famous Stick Together". The New York Times. Retrieved March 10,
2010.
"House of the day: Check Out The East Village Apartment Chloë Sevigny
Just Sold For $1.85 Million". Business Insider Australia. March 27,
2013. Retrieved April 7, 2014.